Bonjour,
I hope that you just and yours are nicely.
Christmas Day is sort of right here, and I’d wish to want you a really Merry Christmas from the center of nowhere, rural northern France the place I stay.
In my usually tranquil little village, there’s a flurry of exercise occurring behind shutters which might be closed tight towards the chilly wind. Tonight is social gathering evening, and although we normally go to Madame Bernadette’s, she’s getting on a bit and as a substitute this 12 months the soiree will likely be held on the house of our neighbours Guillaume and Constance the place Madame Bernadette would be the visitor of honour. All who’re invited will likely be bringing one thing to eat and drink and share with everybody – and I’m not exaggerating once I inform you that the majority of them would be capable of do themselves proud on a TV collection like MasterChef. Nicely, all apart from me that’s. Nonetheless, I’ve an ace up my sleeve – mince pies!
My neighbours will likely be unpacking rigorously packed delicacies like choux buns crammed with recent, tangy goats’ cheese, laying out mini tartelettes crammed with smoky bacon and onion confit and delicate golden gougères like crunchy balloons flavoured with salty and nutty Comté cheese from japanese France. There will likely be nice baskets of baguettes, salty butter, charcuterie and cheeses, and petit fours – little muffins that appear to be jewels.
I do know I can’t compete with this array of totally delicious dishes, however my annual mince pies contribution has turn out to be a little bit of a factor right here! A really British dessert, they’re a convention that dates again to the center ages and it was believed that they introduced those that nibbled on them good luck for the approaching 12 months. The French are very eager on superstitions. They’ve quite a few baffling beliefs about meals – together with a really rigorously noticed rule to by no means hand over a baguette the wrong way up as a result of it means you invite famine into your own home, additionally – you shouldn’t give a good friend a knife as a present, except they offer you a coin in trade!
Mince pies have a fruity, boozy filling in a candy pastry case, and they’re very moreish. I believe I’ll even have began a development for them right here in northern France as Bread Man who delivers the bread to our village even makes them for his prospects after I launched them to him a number of years in the past!
So, regardless of being ‘not fairly flop chef’ any extra after years of making use of myself to studying to cook dinner, however positively not in my neighbours’ ‘prime chef’ league – my mince pies go down a deal with!
No matter you might have deliberate for this festive time of the 12 months, I want you a really Merry Christmas.
Bisous from a scrumptious little village in France,
Janine
Editor
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Janine Marsh is Creator of My Good Life in France: In Pursuit of the Rural Dream, My 4 Seasons in France: A 12 months of the Good Life and Toujours la France: Dwelling the Dream in Rural France all out there as e-book, print & audio, on Amazon all over the place & all good bookshops on-line. Her newest e-book How you can be French – is a celebration of the French way of life and artwork de vivre.
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